Culture minister 'lined up for health job'

Jeremy Hunt could be made Health Secretary if Andrew Lansley refuses to make major concessions to his NHS reforms, the Standard has learned.

The Culture Secretary is being talked up as a possible replacement in the key role amid signs that both David Cameron and Nick Clegg are insisting on major changes to the flagship Bill.

With his strong Right-wing credentials, Mr Hunt's name might pacify Tory backbenchers who are agitated that Mr Clegg is demanding sweeping policy concessions in the name of Coalition unity after last week's AV referendum.

The backbenchers erupted after Mr Clegg and other Liberal Democrats declared at the weekend that their price of continued coalition was the emasculation of the NHS reforms.

A shot was fired across the Prime Minister's bows today by Mark Pritchard, the secretary of the powerful 1922 committee of Tory MPs, who attacked the Lib-Dems for "sour grapes".

"Essential legislation on welfare reforms, health, law and order, immigration, and Europe, should not be 'gutted' to the point where Bills are no longer recognised," he wrote in an article for PoliticsHome.

Former Tory health secretary John Redwood accused the Lib-Dems of losing their nerve on the NHS reforms. "These are coalition proposals which Liberal Democrats contributed very strongly towards," he said.

Right-winger Bernard Jenkin added: "If the Coalition's going to work at all, we're going to carry on discussing things on their merits, and not descend into party politics within the Coalition."

A series of disputes have opened in the wake of the drubbing received by the Liberal Democrats in local elections. Mr Clegg wants to push ahead with Lords reform this month, but Chancellor George Osborne pointed out that the Coalition agreement only pledged to "bring forward" proposals, not to enact them. Vince Cable is battling to water down Mr Cameron's commitment to reduce immigration to the "tens of thousands", which he says was not in the agreement at all.